Free Hyperbolic Crochet Workshops Offered in Scottsdale

Starting in Jan. 2009, crochet expert Margaret Wertheim will be leading free workshops teaching the basics of hyperbolic crochet, including a unique opportunity for guests to create Scottsdale’s own Community Reef.

The Free workshops will teach the art of hyperbolic crochet – no experience necessary. Learn the basics of hyperbolic crochet from an IFF expert (Institute for Figuring), and become an insider in the unique and exciting challenge to create Scottsdale’s community-created Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef. The workshops will be offered January through March, and will teach interested parties the basics involved in creating the 2,000 square foot hand-crocheted coral reef. Submissions for Scottsdale’s first-ever Community Reef will be accepted at the workshops and/or through the Scottsdale Public Art Program.

The finished reef project will be displayed alongside the IFF’s world traveled Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef at the Scottsdale Civic Center Library as of April 11, 2009. The Scottsdale Reef will be become part of Scottsdale’s Public Art Collection and may also be exhibited across the country. All skill levels— including those with no experience—are welcome to attend the free crochet workshops. *Crochet hooks & starter yarn will be provided.

Training Course Dec 13 – 14, 2008: Project inventor Margaret Wertheim will lead two introductory workshops to anyone interested in either training others at future workshops or learning more about the IFF Community Reef Project. The training session will be at the Civic Center Library on Dec. 13, 2008 from 11am-1pm and at CattleTrack Artist Compound on Dec. 14, 2008 from 12pm-2pm.

Lecture: Dec 13, 2008: 2 p.m., at Civic Center Library Auditorium. Wertheim will give a free lecture on hyperbolic structure and feminine handicraft. Open to the public.

Workshops Dates:

• Jan 5, 2009:10:00 am – 12:30 pm, at Mountain View Community Center Room 2
• Jan 8, 2009: 6:00 pm – 8:45 pm, at Civic Center Library, Silver Room
• Jan 13, 2009: 6:00 am – 7:45 pm, at Arabian Library, Meeting Room 2
• Jan 17, 2009: 10:30 am – 12:30 pm, at Civic Center Library Silver Room
• Jan 24, 2009: 10:30 am – 12:30 pm, at Arabian Library Meeting Room 2
• Feb 9, 2009: 6:00 pm – 8:45 pm, at Civic Center Library, Silver Room
• Feb 12, 2009: 6:00 pm – 7:45 pm, at Arabian Library Meeting Room 1
• Feb 21, 2009: 10:30 am – 12:30 pm, at Civic Center Library, Silver Room
• Feb 28, 2009: 10:30 am – 12:30 pm, at Arabian Library, Meeting Room 2
• Mar 9, 2009: 6:00 pm – 8:45 pm, at Civic Center Library, Gold Room
• Mar 14, 2009: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, at Civic Center Library, Silver Room
• Mar 24, 2009: 6:00 pm – 7:45 pm, at Arabian Library, Meeting Room 2
• Mar 28, 2009: 10:30 am – 12:30 pm, at Arabian Library, Meeting Room 2

Locations:

• Mountain View Community Center
  8625 E. Mountain View
  Scottsdale, AZ 85258
  (East of Hayden on Mountain View)
• Civic Center Library
  3839 N. Drinkwater Blvd.
  Scottsdale, AZ 85251
• Arabian Library
  10215 E. McDowell Mtn. Ranch Rd.
  Scottsdale, AZ 85355

For more information about IFF Hyperbolic Crochet Workshops or about the Scottsdale Public Art Program, please visit www.scottsdalepublicart.org.

About Scottsdale Public Art
The mission of the Scottsdale Public Art Program is to make Scottsdale one of the most desirable communities in the country in which to live, work and visit by incorporating art and design projects throughout. In 1985, the City of Scottsdale established the Scottsdale Public Art Program with the goal to enhance the quality of life for its residents and visitors. Since then more than 60 permanent and temporary public artworks have been commissioned throughout the community. Scottsdale’s program and projects have won local, regional and national awards. Public art has taken many forms ranging from the walls of the Pima Freeway to James Turrell’s “skyspace” at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. The Scottsdale Public Art Program is managed by the Scottsdale Cultural Council, a private, non-profit 501 (c) (3) management organization that administers the arts and cultural affairs of the City of Scottsdale and also manages the Scottsdale Center for the Arts and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

About IFF
The Institute for Figuring is an educational organization dedicated to enhancing the public understanding of figures and figuring techniques. From the physics of snowflakes and the hyperbolic geometry of sea slugs, to the mathematics of paper folding and graphical models of the human mind, the Institute takes as its purview a complex ecology of figuring.

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